Who painted Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee?

Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee was painted by Unknown in 1780.

Where can I see Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee?

Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

What movement is Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee?

Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee is associated with Rococo painting.

Artwork

Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee

Unknown , 1780

Figure of a Merchant with a crate marked caffee is a watercolor work on paper by the Rococo painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1780 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

About this work

Overview

This small watercolour depicts a merchant in a bright red coat, a tall fur hat and a cup, standing beside a wooden crate stamped with the word “caffee” and the numeral 100. The crate bears a faint merchant’s mark, suggesting a commercial load of coffee beans measured in hundredweight.

Subject & Meaning

The figure likely represents a Smyrna (modern Izmir) trader, a common visual shorthand for the Ottoman origins of coffee in early European perception. By pairing the merchant with a marked crate, the image underscores the commodity’s role as a traded good rather than a mere beverage.

Technique & Style

Executed in watercolour, the work employs a limited palette of reds, browns and muted tones, with loose brushwork that suggests texture on the fur hat and the wooden crate. The composition is straightforward, focusing on the individual and his cargo, a style reminiscent of commercial illustrations of the 17th‑18th centuries.

History & Provenance

The piece may have served as a design for an illustration, a trade card, or an advertising sign, reflecting the period when coffee entered European markets via Ottoman merchants. Its visual language aligns with similar commercial prints held by institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Context

Coffee, originally cultivated in Yemen and exported from Mocha, reached Istanbul in the mid‑16th century and was later introduced to Europe by Turkish merchants. By the 1650s coffee houses appeared in Oxford and London, becoming hubs for business and political discussion, a development that this merchant image alludes to.